Word of mouth is the absolute best way to get clients bar none. That's how we get 90% of our work for http://consultutah.com
Of the rest, 9% is from ads places in local newspapers and 1% from random web traffic.
Getting started is the hardest part to getting good word of mouth referrals. You need to talk to everyone about your business. Tell your friends about your freelance work. Go to job fairs and talk with prospective employers (look for the smaller places where the owner rather than an hr rep is there). Find where business people congregate and talk to them.
I had to learn the hard way that the only way to get work was to step completely out of my comfort zone and start talking to people.
This is good advice. Make sure all of your friends and parents' friends and everyone else in your life knows what you do. Chances are, one of them knows someone who needs you.
Of the rest, 9% is from ads places in local newspapers and 1% from random web traffic.
Getting started is the hardest part to getting good word of mouth referrals. You need to talk to everyone about your business. Tell your friends about your freelance work. Go to job fairs and talk with prospective employers (look for the smaller places where the owner rather than an hr rep is there). Find where business people congregate and talk to them.
I had to learn the hard way that the only way to get work was to step completely out of my comfort zone and start talking to people.
Good luck!